Teams that made a statement and likely won themselves a high pre-season rank shown in BOLD.
Utah 45, CSU 38
The Utes played like they wish they'd played all season. Taking calculated risks and having some consistency at QB makes a difference.
Memphis 45, BYU 38 (2OT)
This game was originally billed as a defensive game...bad call. The Cougars had their chance down their stretch (as in other games) but couldn't pull off a good defensive stance when it mattered most. And both teams should be ashamed of ending it with an all out brawl. Great game, lots of back-and-forth, too many bloodied noses at the end. (That will cost both teams in August).
Georgia 37, Louisville 14
The Dawgs came into the game without its long time OC Mike Bobo and by half-time had lost its starting QB and top receiver. But Nick Chubb was still in the game and that's all that mattered. Chubb alone rushed for 260+ yards against the nations #2 rush defense and the back-up QB got a good warm-up for 2015.
Boise State 38, Arizona 30
This was a surprise and just shows that BSU preps better than most any team out there. BSU started the year slow but this kicked off 2015 in style. We all might have been surprised but I bet they weren't.
TCU 42, Ole Miss 3
I figured that TCU and Baylor both would be out to make a statement about not gettign into the playoffs. And TCU did just that against the landsharks of Mississippi. (Baylor, however, did not fare so well).
Oregon 59, FSU 20
Yes - the PAC-12 made their statement game doing what no other team has done in 29 FSU games. Florida State just fell apart in the 3rd against a much-improved Oregon defense and Oregon never looked back And most of the FSU team refusing to congratulate the other team - shameful, just shameful.
Ohio State 42, Alabama 35
OSU showed everyone that it can play with the big boys...and maybe showed up that the big boys from the SEC-West aren't quite as big as we all thought.
Tennesee 45, Iowa 28
This team played more true freshman than any other FBS team. The view for the next couple of years might look pretty good from Rocky Top.
SEC
There is an SEC bias and will be for years to come. When I picked my Bowl Mania teams I sided with the SEC on most games...only to be fooled. Even the ranked, talked-up, mighty SEC-West teams could not pull off bowl wins (LSU, Bama, Ole Miss and MSU all lost). These are the teams that a few months ago many were saying should be the playoff teams! Nice to finally see some parity in college football. For the first time since 2005 the championship game does not have SEC representation. And both teams are from north of the Mason-Dixon Line, too!
The Grand CFP Finale: Ohio State 42, Oregon 20
Though I was not surprised the OSU won given their commanding performance in the Sugar Bowl, I was surprised that Oregon did not do better. Granted, they did not have all their key players but we all know that depth wins championships - and OSU had depth. How does one solve the upcoming QB controversy already brewing in Columbus? And kudos to the young RB. Jones and Elliot were quite the 1-2 punch. And Meyer and his staff needed only one series from Oregon to figure them out. I thought they might wear out by the 4th but they remained poised and confident throughout. That was one thing I noticed in their win over Bama as well - they never seemed worried. I doubted OSU from the start of the season and boy was I wrong. And they look positioned to do it all over again.
You've heard my rants about Meyer over the years but even I cannot debate his coaching skills. One of my more common rants is that he tends to run up the score and he did not hesitate to do so in this case. I'm not the only one who thinks that doing such is a crime - read HERE.
And a few laughs to end the season:
Jimmy Kimmels ESPN mean tweets are hilarious - click HERE.
And a couple of last laughs about the antics of Jameis Winston:
Utah 45, CSU 38
The Utes played like they wish they'd played all season. Taking calculated risks and having some consistency at QB makes a difference.
Memphis 45, BYU 38 (2OT)
This game was originally billed as a defensive game...bad call. The Cougars had their chance down their stretch (as in other games) but couldn't pull off a good defensive stance when it mattered most. And both teams should be ashamed of ending it with an all out brawl. Great game, lots of back-and-forth, too many bloodied noses at the end. (That will cost both teams in August).
Georgia 37, Louisville 14
The Dawgs came into the game without its long time OC Mike Bobo and by half-time had lost its starting QB and top receiver. But Nick Chubb was still in the game and that's all that mattered. Chubb alone rushed for 260+ yards against the nations #2 rush defense and the back-up QB got a good warm-up for 2015.
Boise State 38, Arizona 30
This was a surprise and just shows that BSU preps better than most any team out there. BSU started the year slow but this kicked off 2015 in style. We all might have been surprised but I bet they weren't.
TCU 42, Ole Miss 3
I figured that TCU and Baylor both would be out to make a statement about not gettign into the playoffs. And TCU did just that against the landsharks of Mississippi. (Baylor, however, did not fare so well).
Oregon 59, FSU 20
Yes - the PAC-12 made their statement game doing what no other team has done in 29 FSU games. Florida State just fell apart in the 3rd against a much-improved Oregon defense and Oregon never looked back And most of the FSU team refusing to congratulate the other team - shameful, just shameful.
Ohio State 42, Alabama 35
OSU showed everyone that it can play with the big boys...and maybe showed up that the big boys from the SEC-West aren't quite as big as we all thought.
Tennesee 45, Iowa 28
This team played more true freshman than any other FBS team. The view for the next couple of years might look pretty good from Rocky Top.
SEC
There is an SEC bias and will be for years to come. When I picked my Bowl Mania teams I sided with the SEC on most games...only to be fooled. Even the ranked, talked-up, mighty SEC-West teams could not pull off bowl wins (LSU, Bama, Ole Miss and MSU all lost). These are the teams that a few months ago many were saying should be the playoff teams! Nice to finally see some parity in college football. For the first time since 2005 the championship game does not have SEC representation. And both teams are from north of the Mason-Dixon Line, too!
The Grand CFP Finale: Ohio State 42, Oregon 20
Though I was not surprised the OSU won given their commanding performance in the Sugar Bowl, I was surprised that Oregon did not do better. Granted, they did not have all their key players but we all know that depth wins championships - and OSU had depth. How does one solve the upcoming QB controversy already brewing in Columbus? And kudos to the young RB. Jones and Elliot were quite the 1-2 punch. And Meyer and his staff needed only one series from Oregon to figure them out. I thought they might wear out by the 4th but they remained poised and confident throughout. That was one thing I noticed in their win over Bama as well - they never seemed worried. I doubted OSU from the start of the season and boy was I wrong. And they look positioned to do it all over again.
You've heard my rants about Meyer over the years but even I cannot debate his coaching skills. One of my more common rants is that he tends to run up the score and he did not hesitate to do so in this case. I'm not the only one who thinks that doing such is a crime - read HERE.
And a few laughs to end the season:
Jimmy Kimmels ESPN mean tweets are hilarious - click HERE.
And a couple of last laughs about the antics of Jameis Winston:
- Click HERE for the "Five Will Survive" video.
- Click HERE for the Jimbo threat during the playoff game.
Until next season...